Muscle degeneration in neuramindase 1 deficient mice results from infiltration of the muscle fibers by expanded connective tissue

AbstractNeuraminidase 1 (NEU1) regulates the catabolism of sialoglycoconjugates in lysosomes. Congenital NEU1 deficiency in children is the basis of sialidosis, a severe neurosomatic disorder in which patients experience a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations varying in the age of onset and severity. Osteoskeletal deformities and muscle hypotonia have been described in patients with sialidosis. Here we present the first comprehensive analysis of the skeletal muscle pathology associated with loss of Neu1 function in mice. In this animal model, skeletal muscles showed an expansion of the epimysial and perimysial spaces, associated with proliferation of fibroblast-like cells and abnormal …